Telecoms that contravene the Fraud Hazard Prevention Act (詐欺犯罪危害防制條例) and are consequently punished would be assigned with a limited number of telephone numbers within a designated period of time, an amendment to Regulations for Applying and Allocating Telecommunications Numbers (電信號碼申請及核配辦法) proposed by the Ministry of Digital Affairs said.
The amendment is subject to a 60-day public review before it takes effect.
The amendment is designed to reinforce the management of four-digit numbers that begin with “19,” which are usually assigned to government agencies offering emergency assistance, social aid organizations and charities, the ministry said yesterday.
Photo: Hsu Tzu-ling, Taipei Times
Some of the widely known numbers include the COVID-19 prevention hotline 1922, the Taipei City Government’s hotline for residents 1999 and Taiwan Railway Corp’s hotline 1933 for people to call when they see objects on railway lines.
Telephone numbers are rare national resources, so to prevent these special numbers from being abused for fraud, they are generally assigned to government agencies and state-run corporations, the ministry said.
As private organizations would be able to apply to use the special numbers, the regulations need to be amended to reinforce the management of the numbers, it said.
The amendment stipulates the conditions under which individuals and organizations must voluntarily return special service numbers to the government. When changing the use of these special numbers, they must file applications and secure approval from the government before they are allowed to continue using the numbers, the ministry said.
The amendment also lists the standards that must be met before individuals and organizations can apply for special service numbers. It also authorizes the ministry to conduct random inspections to ensure that the numbers are not abused and users are obligated to comply with the inspections.
Meanwhile the ministry has also proposed an amendment to the Subsidy, Reward and Assistance Regulations for Promoting Industry Innovation (數位發展部協助產業創新活動補助獎勵及輔導辦法), which authorizes it to subsidize, reward and assist digital industries in developing technology to deter fraud.
The amendment is subject to a 30-day public review period, the ministry said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), spokeswoman Yang Chih-yu (楊智伃) and Legislator Hsieh Lung-chieh (謝龍介) would be summoned by police for questioning for leading an illegal assembly on Thursday evening last week, Minister of the Interior Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) said today. The three KMT officials led an assembly outside the Taipei City Prosecutors’ Office, a restricted area where public assembly is not allowed, protesting the questioning of several KMT staff and searches of KMT headquarters and offices in a recall petition forgery case. Chu, Yang and Hsieh are all suspected of contravening the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法) by holding
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
Taiwan would welcome the return of Honduras as a diplomatic ally if its next president decides to make such a move, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said yesterday. “Of course, we would welcome Honduras if they want to restore diplomatic ties with Taiwan after their elections,” Lin said at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, when asked to comment on statements made by two of the three Honduran presidential candidates during the presidential campaign in the Central American country. Taiwan is paying close attention to the region as a whole in the wake of a
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by